


The Warden of the Law

by sunsetsearcher



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Blood and Violence, F/M, Female Monkey D. Luffy, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Marine Monkey D. Luffy, Minor Character Death, impel down is the main setting, it will have dark themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:22:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27341914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetsearcher/pseuds/sunsetsearcher
Summary: (Impel Down AU)The Marines bragged about the impregnable fortress of Impel Down. How no one ever returned from its dark depths. Law remembered Doflamingo's many lessons about manipulation on both people and nations themselves. "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." Law couldn't picture a system more corrupt than the Marines.A strong fortress demanded defenders and for the past three years, Law spent countless late nights scheming and bribing his way through Marines and Pirates alike. The foundation cracked. It only needed the right pirate to take a swing.Law planned his own capture. His methodical escape. But one thing he never could have expected? The granddaughter of Garp the Hero, Monkey D. Luffy, taking an interest in him. Or his growing fascination with the Impel Down guard in return.The pieces set on the chessboard and Law must survive two months in Impel Down.Let the game begin!
Relationships: Female Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law, Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law, onsided Crocodile/Donquixote Doflamingo
Comments: 13
Kudos: 53





	The Warden of the Law

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this is an Alternate Universe so I am going to be changing many things. Fixing small errors here and there. Also delving deeper into what it would take to run a fortress like this while still keeping a magical feel. This story is rated for the darker themes of a place literally inspired by Hell but I'll try to keep it lighter than you might expect.

_Five Years Ago_

Past the Seakings and the Calm Belt, through the Marines and their seastone bellied-warships, deep into the fortress of Impel Down, Portgas D. Ace woke from his restless sleep. The hot room only compounded the sleep sweat that accumulated on his body. The heated air left him gasping for air as he shot up from his makeshift bed. Sweat dripped down his back. Dark eyes rapidly scanning the room in desperation. After a brief moment of panic, Ace allowed himself to calm down and strip off his shirt again.

Most awakenings happened like this. His special cell always remained hot regardless of time or season. The Marines redesigned the boiler room that drew heat from Level Four which then cooled on its way through Level Five, though never enough to make his cell comfortable. Heat became Ace's constant companion in this cell. Metal pipes ran through the room's ceilings and walls in several twisted patterns. Had he thick enough gloves and shoes, Ace knew he would be able to climb the pipes like the tree branches of his old forest home. 

The fifteen year old scolded himself for thinking about the outside world. He hadn't seen the sun in several years. That freedom gone like the taste of Makino's cooking, only the hazy happy memory left behind. Impel Down stripped Ace of many things but none quite so devastating as that. The loss of his memories kept Ace restless in his cell.

No one left Impel Down.

Hope abandoned the fortress long ago. Surviving Impel Down required not just strength but mental toughness. Ace, who had been dumped in this dark corner of the word, should have abandoned Hope in return. Yet today, as in all days before that, the young man picked himself off the ground and began his 'morning' stretches. It could have been noon or midnight. Time lost meaning to Ace in Impel Down. So he continued with a routine he set for himself in the beginning. First his arms, then his legs, and then his core. The light from under the metal door that stood in front of his cage barely managed to illuminate the floor for Ace to see places for his footing. Soon the workout turned more intense. Practiced fighting moves and endurance training. Imprisonment gave Ace time if nothing else to keep himself in shape. 

This exercise continued in the dark until the outside hall echoed with a light chirp. The elevator to his special cell arrived.

Ace paused in his actions, breathing hard. He heard footsteps from boots and sandals making their way closer to him. Closing his eyes, Ace let the soothing sounds wash over him. He felt a deep sense of relief spreading through his body. The earlier anxiety of waking up alone faded. He knew those sounds well. While the sounds evolved as the years passed, Ace swore to himself he would never let himself forget this.

The dark of his cage exploded with light from the outside. Two familiar prison guards stood in his doorway with bright smiles and affection in their eyes.   
  
"ACE!!!!" The younger figure cried out in delight before running into the room. Still being a slip of a thing at thirteen years old, she easily got between the bars of the cell, seemingly too impatient to wait on her counterpart to unlock the doors that way. "I did it! I DID IT!" She yelled as she launched herself at the shirtless teen.

The prisoner laughed as he caught the girl he loved like a sister in his arms while his brother in all but blood let himself in with the keys from around his waist. Ace moved to hold both of them in his arms, soaking up their love. Another thing he swore never to forget. Eventually the hug ended as his sister wiggled to get out and share some big news. "What's gotten into you, Lu? Sabo let you win a spar again?" He teased her, loving that he managed to get her to puff up in indignation. 

"Silly Ace! No!" The young girl's normally happy face twisted into a mightily cute pout that got chuckles from her siblings. "I managed to defeat a Blue Gorilla today! I punched its stupid face until I won! Saldeath said he was impressed my training improved! I have to do it again tomorrow too!" 

And that explained all the bruises and bandages on his little sister. 

Glancing at Sabo for a short nod of confirmation of Luffy's victory, Ace cheered up greatly at the news. "Soon you'll be taking out a whole troop of them!" He ruffled her hair affectionately. To be thirteen and taking out a Blue Gorilla? She deserved some celebration. Luffy's training under Garp and Sabo clearly produced amazing results with enough time. Not wanting to think too much on his mixed feelings about their grandfather, Ace pushed the thought aside. "Maybe one day you'll even defeat Sabo or myself!"

Sabo rolled his eyes at Ace's obvious teasing, pulling both of his siblings out of the cell before either could continue that line of thought. "It's far too hot in here to have a conversation like sane people. Let's go." He tugged both of them into the cooler air of the next room.

Ace took a deep breath of freedom as Sabo slammed the door shut behind them. Sabo and Luffy actually guarded Ace personally and made this their sleeping quarters and break room. Nothing too fancy. Two beds, a table with chairs that both functioned as a desk and dining table. To the left of his cell, a training room stood waiting to be used for spars and practice. Completely soundproof and built to take extremely strong blows from training. To the right, a small bathroom. Straight ahead, an elevator to all the floors of Impel Down. A dim red light glowing above the device.

An illusion of freedom hung over the room. He had no chains and two undeniable allies with whom he could train to become stronger. Yet Ace only ever saw these four rooms for the past several years. The Marines carefully calibrated the elevator to work solely when the device carried with a certain amount of predetermined weight and the cell door locked. With this section cut off with the rest of the prison, two could not leave without leaving the third behind.

And if all these years taught Ace anything, his stupid siblings refused to leave him behind. 

No matter how much he yelled and even cried at them in the past for giving up their freedom for _him_ of all people, they just held him tighter and promised that soon they would be free. Ace always berated them for that, for agreeing to this insanity. Garp's crazy deal saved his life but it also damned all three into this hell. Luffy and Sabo would work as guards and spend their off hours with Ace. They became as imprisoned as he was. Having done nothing wrong, the ability to leave belonged to Luffy and Sabo at any time. The thought never even crossed their mind to Ace's dismay. His siblings pinned all their hope in eventually defeating the Chief Warden in battle to win their precious freedom. Their best bet became Sabo as their champion though Luffy also trained like a little rubber monster to get stronger.

"We are also having a celebration today." 

"Oh?" Ace's head jerked up from his thoughts to see Sabo leading Ace toward the table with plenty of food and even a little cake. Two suspicious swipes of frosting noticeably missing from the side but it looked delicious regardless. A rare treat for today. "What's going on besides Lu's victory?" He blanked on what it could be, his internal clock ruined by not only his environment but his frequent sleepy spells. 

"Stupid Ace! It's your birthday!" Luffy happily chirped as she got all of them plates like Sabo ordered and set them on the table. "There is this Wax Man in Level Two. I traded some food and brief freedom so he could make you some birthday candles for the cake!" Digging into her side pocket, Luffy pulled out four medium sized candles. One for each letter of his name and the last for the number 16. 

"And I made sure the dude didn't try anything funny." Sabo explained as he set the candles into the cake and lit the tops on fire. "Come on Ace, blow out your candles. I'm starving." He said with such an easy smile flashed at Ace with a knowing gaze.

Despite it happening every year, Ace still found himself choked up. These two crazy bastards never knew when to quit and even if the whole world hated him, they proved time and time again that they would love him regardless. The love that he craved so much as a child offered willingly and openly. With the only condition to provide in return. Some tears filled his eyes before he blinked them away. "Yeah, okay." He approached the cake humbly and blew out the candles. Another memory he swore to never forget.

With the candles blown out, the little family feasted on their small meal together. Luffy's stretchy hands enveloping everything in her event horizon as Ace raged at her. Sabo laughed at the familiar sight, barely escaping a quick playful jab thrown by Ace. Nothing too out of the ordinary for the siblings attempting to share a meal together. Then Luffy stole another bite from Sabo's plate. The blond then squawked in affront at the theft before returning the favor. And so the cycle went until all the food disappeared into the three black holes known as their stomachs. 

Luffy and Sabo happily abandoned their plates and such into a trolly to be taken up later before taking Ace to the one corner of the room for a present. Luffy happily dived into her bed as Sabo sat on his with Ace sitting in a comfortable chair he found himself fond of after the hard floor of the cell. Luffy's hand stretched under her bed to obtain a rather small package while Sabo reached into a side drawer to pull out a sake bottle shaped object. 

Ace could already guess what Luffy's gift contained. And indeed there were three black sake cups with red insides. One for each of thm. "You two are sentimental fools." He all but complained to their automatic laughter. They already knew Ace loved it. Ace filled the cups with the sake and passed them out before the siblings clinked the cups together with an oath already on their lips.

_"WE WILL ALWAYS BE BROTHERS!"_

Sworn brothers until the end. Regardless of their many differences. **Forever**. 

Luffy sipped the alcohol lightly before setting it down, still not liking the taste at all. Sabo swiped her cup and downed it with a wide smile. Luffy's Strawhat fell onto the bed beside her as she started to tell Ace the story of how she beat up one of the super strong Gorillas that inhabited Level One. Her hands flying all about during her tale. At least she had gotten control of her rubber powers unlike during her younger years when story time also managed to include dodging practice with her wild body likely to hit her brothers if they did not pay close enough attention. By the time Luffy started on the reactions of the other guards, Ace found himself hit by a dizzy spell. He valiantly fought the feeling. He wanted to hear Luffy's crazy account of the events.

Surrounded by his best friends, a good meal in his stomach, and a comfortable chair beneath him, Ace drifted away toward of the end of the tale. The other two only noticing at the completion. Sabo laughed at Ace's horrible timing and Luffy's pouting. He picked up his brother and tucked Ace in his own bed. While he set the alarm clock according to his watch, Luffy stretched her arm clear across the room to flip the lights out. Today's training tired them out as well. "Move over, the fighting log stole my bed tonight." Sabo huffed and shuffled over blindly to Luffy's bed where they seamlessly curled up. He knew from experience that Ace still hit hard in his sleep. Luffy's octopus arms remained a much preferred fate.   
  
"Ace deserves it. It _is_ his birthday." Luffy reminded him simply, not minding sharing her bed for the night. Her eyes already starting to droop from the nap calling her name.

Sabo glanced down at Luffy. Yup, out like the lights. He shook his head fondly at the two. He remembered when they used to share a floor as a bed. To this day, Ace and Luffy beside him allowed Sabo to gain the best rest allowed in their prison. Their complex home changed them all. For better and sometimes for worse. Sabo could see the changes even if the other two couldn't. He saw how Luffy clung to her favorite prisoners, needing the social interaction she missed from the outside world. Sabo observed Ace's lessened inner hatred but also the growing dependence on them to relax. His own thought darker, tainted by the experience of growing up in such a place like Impel Down.

This whole situation became a cluster fuck from minute one. How she remained so sure in their freedom eluded Sabo. But if Luffy did not give up, then he could not allow himself to either. Sabo forced himself to relax and close his eyes, soothed by the loud breathing of his loved ones. Tomorrow's training awaited them. With a single eye glancing over everyone once again, Sabo allowed himself to fall asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to do like half a NaNoWrimo! I'm buying a house so I'll be busy but I wanted to post my Prologue!


End file.
